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Originally Posted by Ch28
I'm headed to Paris early next year. How'd your trip end up being like?
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I think Paris, as is, can be a bit overwhelming already depending on what you are into.
Take Louvre for example, it's an endless display of incredible art pieces. Then the history of the city.
But if you want my recommendation, I think the Parisian lifestyle is what one should really focus on when you are there.
Go to a supermarket, grab a bottle of wine (which are great. I bought a few bottles around 10euros and they all tasted great. Just remember to bring a corkscrew), some cheese, baguet, and chocolate, and head to one of the many parks available and just relax, chat or read a book. We met a Norwegian couple on our bike tour (which I highly recommend too. It gives you a real knowledge of the history of Paris in a few hours. I did Blue Bike tour. Our guide, Kevin, was awesome and very knowledgeable about Paris history) and we had a blast in that picnic.
Then all the tourist attractions (Louvre, Eiffel tower, all the museums... etc) that you can pick depending on your preference.
But Paris is huge. We ended up not going to Southern France and just stick in Paris the entire time. And even then, we thought the time was not enough because it had so much to offer.
Do watch out for pocket pickers. If you stay in Arrondissements 1,2,3,4,8... I think you are ok. But we went to Clignancourt and noticed there were two suspicious guys following us (because we kept running into them even after we stopped several times. And they didn't seem to be very "touristy" or interested in any of the shops)
Edit: oh, and I forgot to add, get the Velib, which is the public bike system with stations all over Paris. Rates are very reasonable, and if you time your travel well, it's only the weekly charge that you need to pay as the first 30min is free. I find that unless you are going for longer distances, biking is actually better than taking the subway as there is so much to see.
Velib has an app that can check the bike and return space availability, but you'd need internet. What I did was I had Lebara sim card (it's free. But you need to get it beforehand. If you already know the hotel you are going to stay the first day, go to their website and have it mailed one to the hotel under your name. Just add "xxx, guest arriving on xx date" in the name. When I got to my hotel, the sim card was waiting for us already) and the rate is quite reasonable.